50b Sumpless Mixed Reef Build!

[BigJohnny]

Got back from vacation today, thankfully nothing happened while I was gone ha. pH continues to go up!

I have had zero die off/leaching from my marco dry rock or caribsea ocean direct live sand. Phosphates have not risen and ammonia has started to decline (maybe, it was such a small amount it could be an insignificant variance in testing) . Here are my cycle tests before and after vacation:

I will probably be dosing more dr. Tims ammonia tonight to get it up to 2ppm because I don't think it will get there on its own.

 

[BigJohnny]

Ok here's a fun one, ph was 7.88, I turn on my 6 bulb ati sunpower and it immediately drops to 7.77. I know it's only a .11 swing but it was instant and clearly some sort of electrical interference. I turned them back off and it rose to 7.88.

That's relatively concerning, I am now wondering if it could lead to un-calibration of the pH probe..... anyone have any experience with this?

 

[BigJohnny]

I dosed Dr. Tims ammonia to get the tank to 2ppm (based on my calculations, I haven't tested yet). I was not comfortable with letting the tank cycle with only .5ppm. All my fish will be quarantined before stocking so I will need to dose ammonia several times anyway to keep the bacteria going.

I may switch to an auto feeder with my desired fish food however I have not decided yet. I will not add another ammonia source until my cycle is complete (when ammonia/nitrites measure 0) at which point I will perform a 50% water change in order to remove nitrates.

 

[BigJohnny]

I dosed Dr. Tims ammonia to get the tank to 2ppm (based on my calculations, I haven't tested yet). I was not comfortable with letting the tank cycle with only .5ppm. All my fish will be quarantined before stocking so I will need to dose ammonia several times anyway to keep the bacteria going.

I may switch to an auto feeder with my desired fish food however I have not decided yet. I will not add another ammonia source until my cycle is complete (when ammonia/nitrites measure 0) at which point I will perform a 50% water change in order to remove nitrates.

Once ammonia reaches 0 ppm, I will actually dose 1 ppm ammonia and continue to do so every time it drops back down, until my tank can convert it to pure nitrates within 24 hrs.

I may have to increase the frequency of dosing (rather than waiting until ammonia hits 0 ppm every time) in order to achieve this, however I am not sure because I have never cycled a tank with pure ammonia before.

I am going out of town tonight for work until thursday or friday. When i get back I will re-test ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.

P.S. I have been using a Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 ATO on my tank and it has worked flawlessly. It's amazing how consistent the water level has been, down to the mm! I strongly recommend it. [emoji106]

Stay tuned for more updates and some new pics.

 

[PhaneSoul]

Is the ph probe wire next to any power wires? Could be transmitting to the ph wire sqewibg results. Try separating wires and try it again

 

[BigJohnny]

Is the ph probe wire next to any power wires? Could be transmitting to the ph wire sqewibg results. Try separating wires and try it again

Yes, the pH probe wire is only a couple of inches away from the ATI sunpower wires. I will try and re-route them to see if that makes a difference. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[BigJohnny]

Just got back from traveling for work, tank cycle appears to be moving along:

Here's two fresh pics of the set up (nothing new going on, just figured I'd take some shots because I love how it looks[emoji6] :

 

[Isaacs55]

Just got back from traveling for work, tank cycle appears to be moving along:

Here's two fresh pics of the set up (nothing new going on, just figured I'd take some shots because I love how it looks[emoji6] :

Very nice Big Johnny! Looks like your cycle is headed in the right direction! Keep us posted

 

[BigJohnny]

Thanks bud, moving along every day! Going to order my copepods/amphipods soon!

 

[BrettDS]

So I just came across this thread and was looking at some of the pictures in your first post and noticed that your float switch was mounted upside down with the wire running down into the water. Is there a reason you did this? You should be able to undo the clip on the bottom (well, top in your case) of the switch and turn the float around to change it from normally open to normally closed without having to run the wire through the water.

 

[BigJohnny]

So I just came across this thread and was looking at some of the pictures in your first post and noticed that your float switch was mounted upside down with the wire running down into the water. Is there a reason you did this? You should be able to undo the clip on the bottom (well, top in your case) of the switch and turn the float around to change it from normally open to normally closed without having to run the wire through the water.

It's the back up overfill alarm on the tunze osmolator 3155, it's not backwards it's german [emoji6] . You'll notice the wire is clipped into a bracket built into the magnet that routes it straight up next to the optical eye wire. It is how its supposed to be mounted. The switch floats up and triggers the alarm if the optical eye fails. Thanks though I definitely appreciate you lookin out!

 

[oseymour]

Great job so far.

I also have a 50 breeder but I have a sump. I was able to sneak the extra 10 gallons by the wife.

 

[BigJohnny]

Great job so far.

I also have a 50 breeder but I have a sump. I was able to sneak the extra 10 gallons by the wife.

Thanks man! Haha nice work. Link me your build thread if you have one, I'd love to see it.

 

[BigJohnny]

Check out the different hues I can achieve on my 6 bulb ATI Sunpower by controlling the channels with my ReefKeeper:

Sunrise/Sunset: Purple +, Coral +

Full Sun: Blue +, Purple +, Blue +, Actinic, Coral +, Blue +

Deep Ocean: Blue +, Blue +, Actinic, Blue +

 

[BigJohnny]

Check out the different hues I can achieve on my 6 bulb ATI Sunpower by controlling the channels with my ReefKeeper:

Sunrise/Sunset: Purple +, Coral +

Full Sun: Blue +, Purple +, Blue +, Actinic, Coral +, Blue +

Deep Ocean: Blue +, Blue +, Actinic, Blue +

I will probably just use the first 2, sunrise then full then sunset. May throw the deep blue in there at night [emoji6]. Everything looks bluer in the photos then it actual is but you get the idea.

 

[BigJohnny]

Day 15 params. Been just over 2 weeks since I filled the tank and things are slowly moving along. I have seachem stability but don't want to use it as I believe a natural bacterial population is more stable in the long run. It sure is tempting to use and speed things up however! I do plan on using it to cycle my coral/invert/fish observation qt tank however.

Fish will be TTMd with prazipro then observed.

Corals will be isolated for 3 days then dipped before entering the observation tank.

Inverts will just be observed.

I will obviously not treat fish in the observation tank while corals/inverts are present, however I don't anticipate needing to after TTM/prazipro.

 

[BigJohnny]

Setting up the QT observation tank. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself.

-20g Aqueon
-Aquaclear 50 (sponges only for bacteria)
-Hydor Slim Skim Nano
-Sponge Filter
-DIY Frag Stair Rack
-3" PVC Elbow

I plan on plasti dipping the bottom/back and maybe the sides but just wanted to dry fit the equipment ahead of time. I also plan on putting another frag rack (a Captain Salty's magnetic invisible one like in my display) about half way between the top stair of the existing frag rack and the water level. I plan to use the stair rack/frag rack combo to light acclimate corals before they enter my display.

Additionally there will be a Jebao RW-4 and possibly a koralia nano 425 providing flow within the tank. The RW-4 is controllable from 130 gph - 1000 gph so I can adjust it based on the needs of fish/corals within the tank. The koralia will provide alternative flow and may just run under the frag stairs to keep detritus out of there and suspended in the water column. I also have a 75w eheim Jager truTemp heater.

And.....oh yea, this will not be permanently set up on my living room carpet, but hidden from my landlord in an upstairs closet ha [emoji6].

 

[thestreetzking]

tank looks great, you were right that most of the equipment is hidden with the background.!

 

[BigJohnny]

tank looks great, you were right that most of the equipment is hidden with the background.!

Thanks! Yea I'm really pleased with it. The only thing that I considered an eye sore was the reef octopus skimmer intake/output but I am actually switching to the new aqua c remora s with the pre skim overflow box which makes it practically invisible. I am not switching the reef octopus out for that reason however, it didn't bother me much at all.

For sumpless builds I strongly recommend black plasti dip for the background (it always dries perfectly and you can peel it off whenever you want) and cobalt neotherm heaters (they are literally the same thickness as my Samsung galaxy s5 and dissappear in the tank). I also used black Murlock elbows to route my reactor in and out of the tank which blends in so much better than the tubing. I switched from the supplied brs white tubing to clear tubing where I needed it (polyethylene I believe, got it at home depot).

 

[BigJohnny]